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  • In a move for California’s food industry, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill (SB) 476 into law in October. This legislation, set to take effect on January 1st, 2024, carries significant implications for the state’s food facility employers and their workers. Under SB 476, food facility employers are now mandated to pay for their employees’ food handler cards and the time spent obtaining them, marking a significant leap forward in protecting the rights and well-being of food service workers.

    What Is A Food Handler Card, And Why Does It Matter?

    Before we dive into the details of SB 476, let’s get a better understanding of what a food handler card is and why it’s crucial. A food handler card is a certification required by the state Health and Safety Code for anyone involved in the preparation, storage, or service of food in a food facility. It’s designed to ensure that those working with food possess the necessary knowledge and skills to maintain the safety and hygiene standards crucial in the food industry.

    Before SB 476, obtaining a food handler card was often an expense borne by the employee, including the costs associated with taking the necessary training courses and examinations. However, with the new legislation, a fundamental shift in responsibility has occurred.

    The Power Of SB 476

    Under the provisions of SB 476, employers must now cover all costs associated with their employees obtaining a food handler card. This not only includes the cost of the certification but also compensates employees for their time spent attending training courses and taking examinations. This law mandates that employees are relieved of all other work duties while undergoing this training.

    One of the most notable aspects of SB 476 is the prohibition against conditioning employment on the applicant or employee having an existing food handler card. This means that obtaining a card is no longer a prerequisite for employment, which can open doors for many job seekers and reduce barriers to entry in the food industry. With this change, the focus is on providing employees with the tools and training they need to succeed in their roles.

    A Win-Win For Employers And Employees

    SB 476 represents a win-win situation for both food facility employers and their employees. Employers benefit from a more knowledgeable and skilled workforce, which can lead to improved food safety and customer satisfaction. On the other hand, employees can take advantage of enhanced opportunities for employment and career growth within the food industry, all while being fairly compensated for their time and expenses in obtaining their food handler cards.

    How A PEO Can Help Business Owners

    Navigating these changes and ensuring compliance can be a complex process for business owners, particularly in the food industry. The following is how a PEO like GMS can provide invaluable assistance to your business in California:

    1. HR expertise: GMS offers expertise in human resources, ensuring that businesses understand the implications of SB 476 and helping them develop policies and procedures to remain compliant. They can advise on how to structure compensation, reimbursements, and employee time management effectively.
    2. Training and education: We provide access to training and educational resources that can assist businesses in offering the required food handler courses to their employees through our learning management system (LMS). This can streamline the process, ensuring employees receive the training they need.
    3. Compliance assistance: SB 476 introduces a significant level of complexity regarding employee compensation and compliance. Our experts help business owners understand and adhere to these new requirements, reducing the risk of legal issues and penalties.
    4. Recruitment and onboarding: Since SB 476 eliminates the need for food handler cards as a precondition for employment, businesses might face an influx of job applicants. Our HR experts can help streamline the recruitment and onboarding process, saving time and resources.
    5. Employee benefits: We offer comprehensive benefits packages that can help businesses attract and retain top talent in a competitive industry. This can be appealing to potential employees who value additional benefits beyond fair compensation.

    By leveraging GMS’ expertise, training resources, and support, California business owners in the food industry can thrive in this evolving landscape while prioritizing their employees and their bottom line. Contact us today to learn more.

  • Human resources (HR) is an essential function of any organization that handles the management of people. HR professionals are responsible for recruiting, training, and developing employees, administering employee benefits, and ensuring compliance with employment laws and regulations. In recent years, HR has evolved from being a support function to a strategic partner in the organization. Strategic HR is a proactive approach to HR management that aligns HR strategies with organizational goals and objectives. Throughout this blog, we’ll discuss strategic HR and its benefits.

    Understanding Strategic HR

    Let’s start with the basics – what does strategic HR mean? Strategic HR is a long-term approach to HR management that aligns HR strategies with organizational goals and objectives. It involves developing and implementing HR policies and practices that support the organization’s mission, vision, and values. Strategic HR is proactive, flexible, and responsive to changes in the business environment. It involves integrating HR strategies with overall business strategies to achieve the organization’s goals. Strategic HR professionals tailor their recruiting, training, employee management, and planning processes to the company’s broader goals and objectives.

    Tori Moldovan, PHR, GMS’ Client Services Manager, emphasized, “One of the things I see the most is that we are so reactive in the business world when something happens with our employee base. Strategic HR is a proactive approach, and while it takes time to plan and develop up front, it saves you countless hours on the back end when something occurs that impacts your organization. Time is money, so invest upfront in your processes, employee programs, employee benefits, and training. Keep this on your radar and have quarterly evaluations on what’s working and what isn’t working to ensure you catch issues before it happens. This is a core function of what keeps a business a well-oiled machine!”

    Benefits Of Strategic HR

    As an HR professional, taking a strategic approach to HR management positively impacts your business in many ways. Keep the following benefits in mind:

    Attracting and retaining top talent

    A main benefit of strategic HR is attracting and retaining top talent. When you align HR strategies with organizational goals, HR can develop recruitment and retention strategies that target the right candidates with the skills and experience needed for the organization’s success. In addition, strategic HR can create a positive work culture that supports employee engagement and retention.

    Improved employee performance

    Strategic HR can improve employee performance by developing training and development programs that support employee growth and development. By aligning training and development with organizational goals, HR can ensure that employees have the skills and knowledge needed to perform their job effectively. Strategic HR can also implement performance management systems that provide feedback and recognition to employees for their contributions to the organization.

    Increased productivity

    Another benefit of strategic HR is that it can increase productivity by developing policies and practices that support employee productivity. For example, if you implement flexible working arrangements, HR can support employees in achieving a work-life balance, which ultimately leads to increased productivity.

    Cost savings

    Strategic HR can lead to cost savings by developing HR policies and practices that support efficient and effective HR management. Implementing a human resources information system (HRIS) allows HR to automate payroll, benefits, and risk management processes, reducing the need for manual processes and paperwork.

    Compliance

    Ensuring your business is compliant with employment laws and regulations can be done through strategic HR. By developing and implementing policies and practices that comply with local, state, and federal laws, HR can minimize the risk of legal liability and fines.

    Consider Partnering With A PEO

    As businesses continue to grow, they often face a multitude of challenges when it comes to managing their HR effectively. From attracting and retaining top talent to ensuring compliance with ever-changing employment laws and regulations, HR can be a complex and time-consuming task for businesses of all sizes. This is where a professional employer organization (PEO) such as Group Management Services (GMS) can be a valuable asset.

    When you partner with GMS, we provide you with access to HR technology platforms that streamline your processes, such as payroll, time and attendance tracking, and performance management. These technologies ultimately help you save time and reduce errors. In addition, we help you align your HR practices with your overall business goals. We help businesses develop HR policies and procedures that foster a positive workplace culture and promote employee engagement and retention. We’re a one-stop shop where you can receive all the help you need from an HR partner. Contact us today if you’re ready to simplify your HR processes.

  • As a business owner, training your employees is essential to growing your business. Training your employees allows them to expand their knowledge base and improve their skill set to become more effective. While this process can be costly, the return on investment is greater when you’re consistent. Companies that invest in training experience 24% higher profit margins. When you implement a strong training program, fewer employees will leave, translating to significant cost savings.

    The following are reasons why you should implement training programs for your employees:

    • Improves skills and knowledge
    • Prepares employees for higher responsibilities 
    • Shows your employees they are valued
    • Satisfies the recommendations of performance appraisals

    Developing a great work culture relies heavily on providing your employees with resources to learn and grow. How will you ensure your employee receives the training they desire?

    Train The Trainer

    While having an internal training program is a powerful way to ensure your employees are enhancing their skills and knowledge, other approaches exist. The train-the-trainer model is a framework for training employees into experts on a subject to enable them to then train other individuals within your business. For example, a group of employees with excellent leadership skills receives leadership training. Once they learn how to be an excellent leader, they will then teach this content to future employees.

    The effectiveness of this technique lies in its ability to teach new skills to a wide range of individuals by using internal resources to scale up the delivery of training. The following are the benefits of this training technique:

    • A tailored experience
    • A cost-effective practice
    • Development of an internal training team
    • Allows new employees to ask follow-up questions once the training has concluded
    • Internal trainers understand your business better than any external trainer could, allowing them to better tailor their training

    Alyse Kimble, Training and Development Coordinator at GMS expresses, “Developing the next generation of leaders is the top challenge for 5% of CEOs. Only 63% of millennials believe that they are being fully developed as a leader by their employers for management positions. This not only causes a problem with employee retention, but it’s also causing headaches for HR departments as they struggle to build strong benches for leadership openings within their organization. Having a leadership development plan for your organization is key to your business’s success.”

    How To Get Started

    Determining the best option for you and your business might take time. However, at the end of the day, you need to do what’s best for your employees. Your employees want training programs and a path to career advancement opportunities within your business. According to a survey, 76% of employees seek career growth opportunities and training programs. If you’re interested in implementing a train-the-trainer model, follow the steps below to receive the best results to improve your bottom line.

    1. Define your goals – You must determine what you want your train-the-trainer course to achieve. Do you want to train them to onboard new employees? Do you want to build a core team of trainers who will train the entire organization when a new product is released? How often do you want them to train other employees?

    2. Define how you measure progress – How will you track progress towards these goals in the above step?

    3. Design your train-the-trainer course

    4. Create training materials

    GMS Has Your Back

    Training employees, whether they are current or new, takes an extensive amount of time; however, if you do it right, it’s worth it in the long run. When you partner with GMS, we ensure it’s done right. You’ll gain access to online employee training programs targeted to your employees’ specific job functions. The software allows you to streamline job training, improve employee performance, and reduce learning costs for learning platforms and in-person training. Contact our experts today to learn more.

  • Providing training for your employees has always had a handful of benefits. When you train your employees properly, you can achieve your business goals while also giving employees the learning opportunities they need to move forward in their careers.

    More than half of all employees will require significant reskilling and upskilling by 2025, according to the World Economic Forum. While companies understand the importance of employee training, implementing it remains quite a challenge. Organizations who invest in their employees are likely to reap significant rewards from increasing employee morale to growing the company’s output. The following are benefits of implementing effective employee training:

    • Reduce employee turnover
    • Reduce layoffs
    • Improve employee engagement
    • Increase productivity
    • Improve team functionality
    • Build a competitive advantage
    • Prevent and address skill gaps
    • Build a talent pipeline
    • Enhance management
    • Increase employees’ sense of security

    What Stops Employers From Offering Employee Training

    While many employers understand the benefits of implementing employee training, there are still barriers that employers face. Businesses are left with difficult decisions when there’s a hit to the economy, similar to today’s economy. Many business owners choose to cut their training and development budgets.

    In addition, employee resistance to change is a significant barrier. Employees accustomed to a particular way of functioning for an extended amount of time tend to avoid doing something new. These employees don’t want to learn or adapt to new processes. For a business to continue to grow and adapt, leadership needs to be engaged in the critical aspects of learning and development.

    The most common barrier most small business owners face is budget. According to a study by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), businesses spend between $501 to $3,000 training one employee. Additional barriers HR managers face include:

    • Lack of time to administer training
    • Keeping content current amid changes in the workplace
    • Lack of motivation from employees
    • Forgetting what they learned
    • Not having enough time at work to complete training

    How Employers Can Improve Training And Development Programs

    There are various steps employers can take to implement training and development for their employees. Consider surveying employees to understand how you can meet their training needs more effectively. Alyse Kimble, Training and Development Coordinator at GMS, explains, “More than 50% of businesses face a skills gap in the workforce which is why training is so important. Instead of looking externally to fill gaps, they focus on reskilling and upskilling their current employees. This is especially important if you are hiring Gen Z employees who are highly motivated to grow in their careers. 76% see learning and development as the key step to advancing their careers.”

    What steps will you take to ensure your employees are being trained properly? When you partner with GMS, you gain access to technology that will assist in the training process of your employees. Contact us today to learn more.

  • Sexual harassment is defined by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) as, “unwelcome sexual advances or requests for sexual favors and comments, jokes, acts, or other verbal or physical conduct that is of a sexual nature or directed at employees based on their sex.” Unfortunately, sexual harassment within the workplace is quite common.

    Studies show that 38 percent of women and 14 percent of men reported experiencing sexual harassment in their work environment. Knowing this, it’s vital to implement sexual harassment training within your business to ensure the safety of your employees.

    The Importance Of Sexual Harassment Prevention Training

    By providing harassment prevention training, you’ll raise awareness throughout your business about what harassment is and how employees can contribute to a harassment-free workplace culture. It’s vital to create a workplace culture where employees feel supported. By educating employees, they’ll be able to understand better what sexual harassment is and how to identify it should it happen within their workplace.

    Unfortunately, sexual harassment, sexual assault, and a hostile work environment is an everyday reality for individuals. It’s never desirable to experience this type of behavior, but work is the last place where you would have to endure it.

    States Mandate Training

    Eight states and cities within the United States require businesses to provide sexual harassment training, including California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, New York, New York City, and Chicago. Click here to learn more about each state’s requirements. Let’s look at the state of California and the requirements employers must follow.

    Sexual Harassment Training In California

    In the state of California, any employer who has at least five employees must provide sexual harassment training. Additionally, every two years, all employees must complete the ongoing training. As a business owner, if you do not follow these requirements, you could face penalties for non-compliance, including:

    • Liability – the company can be held liable for harassment if prevention programs are not in place.
    • Employee complaints – employees can report companies for non-compliance.
    • Employee perceptions – employees may feel the company doesn’t care enough to provide training.

    How To Facilitate Training 

    Since sexual harassment prevention training is essential in ensuring the safety of your employees, determining the right resources to implement the training is important. A learning management system (LMS) is a fantastic resource that provides your business with educational courses, training programs, and learning and development programs. It provides your employees with easy, online access to learning portals to complete their ongoing training, including sexual harassment training.

    What Will You Do To Ensure The Safety Of Your Employees?

    Since every state has its own rules and regulations, it can be challenging for a business owner to keep track of everything. However, your employees’ safety should be at the top of your priority list. At GMS, we give businesses access to cutting-edge technology through our LMS, GMS Connect, and expert support so that your employees are set up to succeed. There are many lessons available for ensuring your employees’ safety in training programs, such as sexual harassment prevention. In addition, there are countless of other online programs your employees can take, including safety, general information about your business, and more. Get in touch with us today.

  • Implementing sexual harassment training within your business is imperative, as it creates safer workplaces for all employees. Unfortunately, sexual harassment, sexual assault, and a hostile work environment are everyday realities for individuals. Sexual harassment training serves many purposes, including education, compliance with laws, and risk mitigation. More and more state and local jurisdictions require employers to provide training.

    There are currently nine states/cities that mandate sexual harassment training in the workplace, including:

    California 

    Any employer with five or more employees must provide sexual harassment training. The following must be trained:

    • All employees
    • Supervisory employees must be trained for at least two hours
    • Non-supervisory employees must be trained for at least one hour

    Within six months of an employee’s hire date, nonsupervisory employees and supervisory employees must be trained. For part-time employees, training is required within the first 30 days of their hire date or within the first 100 hours worked. In addition, every two years, all employees must complete the ongoing training.

    Connecticut 

    Employers must provide sexual harassment training to their supervisors, regardless of size. An employer with three or more employees must provide training to all employees within six months of their hire date. Every 10 years, employees must repeat the training for at least two hours.  

    Delaware 

    Any employer that has 50 employees or more must provide sexual harassment training. All new hires must be trained within their first year of employment. In addition, all employees must be trained every two years. 

    Illinois 

    All employers with one or more employees must partake in sexual harassment training as soon as they’re employed. This training must recur every year to stay up-to-date with the newest training protocols. 

    Chicago 

    In Chicago, every employer must also provide their employees with a dedicated hour of bystander sexual harassment training annually. Employers have until June 30, 2023, to begin providing this training. Bystander training should include:

    • Employees recognizing situations of potential sexual harassment
    • Understanding institutional structures and cultural conditions that facilitate sexual harassment
    • Overcoming barriers to intervening
    • Identifying safe and effective intervention options
    • Taking action to intervene 

    Maine 

    An employer with 15 or more employees must train all employees. Training must be completed within the first year of a new hire or being promoted to a supervisor. There is no requirement on how frequently employers in Maine should partake in sexual harassment training.

    New York State 

    In New York, every employee must be trained as soon as they begin employment at your business. Additionally, ongoing training should be completed annually.

    New York City

    For employers with 15 or more employees in New York City, you must provide training to all employees within the first 90 days of their hire date. This training must be completed on an annual basis.

    Washington State

    Every hotel, motel, retail, security guard entity, or property services contractor that employs an “employee” must complete training as soon as they are hired. An “employee” in this case means an individual who spends most of their working hours alone, or whose primary work responsibility involves working without another coworker present, and who is employed by an employer as a janitor, security guard, hotel or motel housekeeper, or room service attendant. There is no requirement on how often the training must occur once the first training is completed.

    Invest In Proper Training To Ensure Workplace Safety

    Without a healthy and efficient workforce, business owners cannot keep operations running and thriving. Our experts will train your employees to ensure they follow safe workplace protocols. In addition, we provide clients with access to an employee learning management system where you can easily send new learning modules to your employees. This is an excellent source to implement ongoing training if your company is in a state that requires frequent training. To learn more about the benefits of implementing a learning management system, read our blog.